The retail technology space during the Covid outbreak
Retail Technology Innovation Hub rounds up the key retail systems related Covid-19 developments from last week, including Sainsbury’s, Mirakl, Asda and the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards.
US retailer Hy-Vee has partnered with Simbe Robotics to roll-out its autonomous inventory management and retail intelligence solution, Tally, to five stores across Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.
Mytraffic, a startup that specialises in data insights for physical places, has raised €10 million with Alven as lead investor, alongside Kernel, participating as an existing backer.
The company will use the funds to develop its product features and accelerate its growth in the UK, as well as France, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Sainsbury’s has relaunched its same day home delivery service, having shelved it during the coronavirus outbreak.
The grocery giant operates this from more than 250 UK stores.
Customers who order before midday can chose a post 5pm delivery slot or a collection from their local store after 4pm. Plans are afoot to expand this to a further 100 stores by the end of October.
Mirakl, a French online marketplaces startup, has announced a $555 million Series E funding round, led by Silver Lake.
The values the nine-year-old venture at roughly $3.5 billion, up from its $1.5 billion valuation in a fundraise in September 2020.
Gone are the days of physical gift cards. It’s now all about digital, according to new research from Blackhawk Network.
The company surveyed 15,000 consumers across 14 European countries.
Last year, digital gift cards offered a convenient solution to gifting during lockdown, as Blackhawk Network found 59% of consumers bought a gift card online. Despite restrictions easing across EMEA and concerns over Covid-19 declining, consumers are still opting for this method.
UK debit and credit card transactions surpassed four in every five pounds spent in 2020 (81%, up from 78% in 2019), according to research by the British Retail Consortium.
The Covid pandemic and digital shift mean that cash use now accounts for just 15% of total spending in retail (down from 20% in 2019), though it still accounts for 30% of individual transactions.
Retail operating system specialist Brightpearl has put together a list of the 50 fastest growing UK e-commerce brands of the Covid pandemic era, with Swansea-based luxury alcohol brand, Au Vodka, coming out on top.
The winners of the 2021 GCVA Hall of Fame Awards, which celebrate the best of the UK gift card and voucher industry, have been announced.
Held at the St Pancras International Renaissance Hotel in London, the awards, organised by the Gift Card & Voucher Association (GCVA), recognise the extraordinary efforts of GCVA members, which span the retail, leisure, incentives and payments sectors, across 10 categories.
Linking many of the winners this year were projects that placed customer needs at the heart of the solution, supporting those who needed it most following an extremely difficult 18 months for many.
Footwear brand, Dubarry of Ireland, has consolidated its global online payment infrastructure to Adyen’s single platform.
It says that integrating Adyen acquiring has improved its authorisation rates by up to 15%, and its shoppers can now enjoy a seamless and localised checkout experience.
Asda has partnered with startup Wayve to test out autonomous vans as part of the grocery giant’s last mile operation.
The trial will begin in early 2022 and Asda will be the first to commercially test the solution, using Wayve’s deep learning expertise to help navigate complex delivery routes in London.
The vans will operate under the supervision of a Wayve safety driver throughout the 12-month trial.
The UK government must take immediate action to reduce the burden placed on retailers by business rates, according to the BRC.
According to its new report, this would help to “unlock the industry’s potential to support the economic recovery from the pandemic, ensuring that retail remains a provider of quality jobs and an important contributor to tax revenues for years to come.”
RTIH has announced Critizr as sponsor of the Best Coronavirus Innovation category at the 2021 RTIH Innovation Awards.
The pandemic has had a major impact on the way that we shop and the way that retailers operate.
This award will go to the company who has best turned to technology to solve the challenges presented by the Covid-19 era, improving in-store and/or online experiences for both staff and customers.
Last year, Ocucon emerged triumphant, impressing our judging panel with Occupi by Ocucon, an intelligent occupancy management system that allows retailers to remotely monitor and manage the flow of shoppers in and out of their stores – coordinated via signage, CCTV and door entry and closing systems.
To be in with a chance of joining them in our hall of fame, click here.
